In Pitkin County, Colorado, benefit checks make up only 4 cents of every dollar of income
In Pitkin County, 3.9% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 88% of U.S. counties.
What drives Pitkin County's score
In Pitkin County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 77.6. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 5.0. About one in 12 people with a credit file (8.6%, August 2025) has unpaid debt sent to a collector, a lower share than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Pitkin County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Even so, Pitkin County is worse off than most counties on rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (26.0%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 77.6 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent21.1% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income26.0% · fiscal year 202787th percentile
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- 21.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202633rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working13.4% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
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- 17.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.0% · August 202511th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.4% · August 202537th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score19.0% · second quarter of 20265th or lower percentile
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- 7.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line6.9% · 20245th or lower percentile
- Children below the poverty line5.3% · 20245th or lower percentile
- People with a disability9.0% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- People without health insurance5.0% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$119,658 · 20245th or lower percentile
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- 5.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector8.6% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people30 · 20255th or lower percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Pitkin County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Pitkin County, 22.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Pitkin County
Colorado
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Pitkin County had its largest rise, from 2.7% in 2004 to 4.1% in 2009.
In Pitkin County, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1969, reaching 3.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about eight times as much as benefit checks
In Pitkin County, Colorado, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 3.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Pitkin County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise in the last span, from 1.5% in 2023 to 2.7% in 2024.
The share of households in Pitkin County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2019 and has since fallen to 2.7%
Low on the chart: 0.2% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Pitkin County, Colorado.
How Pitkin County has changed
Pitkin County's population had its largest rise, from 5,876 in 1969 to 8,545 in 1974.
Pitkin County's population tripled from 1969 to 2019, reaching 17,408, then turned down in 2024
High on the chart: 17,503 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Pitkin County, Colorado.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Pitkin County rose 39% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 17,751. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Pitkin County, Colorado.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.3% | 2025 3.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 3.9% | 2024 6.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $34,160 | 2024 $119,658 |
The table uses 3.3% for 2025; the score uses 3.6% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Pitkin County's history
1997
Lightning in July 1997 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 17,358, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2023
A flood in May 2023 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
6 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Pitkin County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Pitkin County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Pitkin County, five score higher. Of the group, Pitkin County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Mesa County gets the largest, at 25.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mesa County, CO | 37 | 10.3% | 25.2% |
| Lake County, CO | 34 | 11.3% | 15.8% |
| Chaffee County, CO | 14 | 9.6% | 19.9% |
| Eagle County, CO | 14 | 7.9% | 5.8% |
| Garfield County, CO | 12 | 7.5% | 14.0% |
| Pitkin County, CO | 11 | 6.9% | 3.9% |
| Gunnison County, CO | 9 | 11.0% | 12.9% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Pitkin County the poorest county in Colorado?
No, Pitkin County's poverty rate was 6.9% in 2024, 60th highest of 64 in Colorado (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Crowley County, at 39.0%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Pitkin County ranks 55th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Pitkin County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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Colorado Legal Services
Legal aid
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Colorado Bar Association — Find a Lawyer directory
Find a lawyer
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Pitkin County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Pitkin County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.